Thursday, May 10, 2007

black & white, cementerio de Autlán, COBOL, BASIC, FORTRAN & some Pascal

y si!
started to play with this one
el cementerio de Autlán
i left the 23hq-version of this one in color
& almost intact

but couldn't resist to play it
in el photoshop too
& then in a second (1 sec)
it just made sense
this cut off-framing-whatever
& the whole CS screen

these days, i don't really care about software anymore
fuck Vista and all the new version of Mac OS X
with all its Tigers and Cheetas and Leopards
& collection of bad cat names

& but of course i respect Mac much more than fucking Windows
that after all is a freaking copy of the original Mac system
the real GUI 1st precursor was the lovely Apple Lisa :)

but, these days, fuck them all those fancy operating systems
and over-pre-fabricated software, every day things are more *specialized*
less native...

but... Photoshop, oh glorious photoshop
i remember my 1st attempts with computer graphics
where on a Commodore Amiga
don't miss that link
and oh wonderful, it became Macintosh
i remember we had a software called Deluxe Paint
but it was a 2D animation painter

I remember I drew a small yellow chicken
a tree, some grass, and a flower
then i made the chicken move from one place to another one
and eat from the grass
it was so much fun!
although it looked like a very bad cartoon

but also I remember way before that
when I 18, taking a 1 semester class
on basic programming languages
like Cobol, Pascal, and ha! even Fortran & BASIC
god! i am old
we worked on a *terminal* of the main computer
just a screen and a keyboard
the main brain was stored in a BIG air conditioned room
we looked at it from a glass window
you could almost hear it breath
your stupid algorithms
burping little binary 0's and 1's flying all around

and then i went through many versions of Macs
and of just few PC's, way less than Macs
and all their infinite lists of operating systems
always upgrading, always obeying
and through many software
graphic software, programming software,
the whole damn thing

& that's why today
on the purist/lazy search
i declare
that i just really need
MS-DOS on a PC
or something like this on a MAC



and as for software
i just need ANY version of photoshop
could be the very 1st one
here an amazing link of screenshots of the 1st version
I remember I started on version 2.something, but rather early
when text, as typed, was embedded on the image immediately
as to create another layer for it, etc
since the basic stuff as colors, brightness, darkness, etc.
haven't and won't ever change
those are principles of color and light

oh! a word processor would be nice too
click on this image, for a closer view
oh ah photoshop



disclaimer: NO!, i am not under the influence of anything!
except peppermint & chamomile tea, a bran cake with apple & cranberries
from the Zen Bakery, delicious & healthy
& some vegetarian dinner from here
the Caribbean pepperpot soup was delicious! exhilarating, I would say
makes you wanna photoshop strange images & write stupid stuff about old computers
i highly recommended it!!

Monday, May 07, 2007

black kitty

my neighbor`s black kitty
i don`t know her name
but she is coming more often to play

at the end of the alley there was another black kitty
they were staring at each other
then i came with my silly camera & interrupted

sun, hair, shades, lethargy, summer in the spring and rather long post

I started writing this on my head
On the way back from 7-eleven
Where I got a diet pepsi
This might be rather misleading
Since I don’t really drink much soda
And diet soda even less
And I usually don’t go to 7-eleven’s
Unless is for coffee
So was a little unusual

Anyway
It is Monday and it is really sunny outside
But inside I feel very dull
And rather bored
It is sunny, & all is very pretty
Perfect and nice
I have no issues in my life
Yet the boredom, oh woman, here I am

I left work and went swimming at the YMCA!
With this breaking-record heat in San Diego
Over the 80’s, and fire hazards all over the place
It felt like a perfect day for swimming
I am not a good swimmer at all
And I haven’t swam in so long

So what I feel as boredom
Might be that relaxed almost lethargic feeling
One get after a good swim!

It was quite nice out there
I was able to manage a couple of laps on the swimming pool
Just 5 and I was in the same lane with 2 older man
About 50 and 60, I took breaks in between half laps
They didn’t and they did 2 or 3 laps in the meantime I did 1
Rather embarrassing for my gender and age
But they didn’t seem to care, since they stop & chatted
Every other break, always smiling back

Anyway, here is very hot & blue open sky
The little heaven can be boring
Too much summer-feel-like sun can be dull in the spring
When over-used even beauty or heaven can be dull

Oh I haven’t washed dishes in 3 days
I haven’t use many either
Been fixing sandwiches and cappucinnos
& didn’t do laundry either
my place somehow still seems OK
another mystery of my domestic life!

I think I am tired (even if in a good way)
Both mentally & physically
And I mean in a good way
Just because I have worked a lot
And I did a lot of physical work too
So the lethargy seems natural now

The heat although
Those curatives rays of sun
That give you life and then drain it out of you again

Ah life in the heat, the summer-ville of life
Radical difference is the surrounding
What an even duller day this might’ve been in a big city
But in San Diego, dull & boring, as the evening comes close
Is just elder and relaxing
Ha! Yes I am old, and i like it!
And I feel like Herman Hesse in Baden Baden
Or like Miss Marple solving a mystery in a summery castle in England
Although today was her day off
I might end up in Florida at this pace
Rather be dark again…
can one be old & manage the secondary effects of a dark train of thought?
can one body & mind take it?

i rather swim and smile more
i live in California, after all... ironic!
& this killing drying but blessed sun i enjoy

More of summer-instead-spring sopor
(from dictionary.com
sopor –I think this is a code word why I include
the dictionary entry)
1.Pathology. a deep, unnatural sleep; lethargy.

Thursday, May 03, 2007

just a teaspoon... & a guitar

i can't believe what guitarist Hannes Coetzee
from South Africa does,
with just a teaspoon & a guitar!
south african old folk music
don't miss this clip!
watching him close & how
he creates the 'tea-spoonful' melody
magic & glad i found this little movie
you-tube might have its issues
but it is still a great source for this kind of lost wonderful stuff

Tuesday, May 01, 2007

home-made cappuccino

& since i am already chronologizing
(one gotta chronologize the stupidity now & then)
here this photo of my Monday morning cappuccino!



I make these cappuccinos with the help
of my stove-top espresso machine here

1. i heat milk in a pot
2. before it starts boiling, i reduce the heat & blend while heating with old-fashioned hand blender, for about 1 minute
3. serve some milk & with a spoon some foam into a cup
4. slowly pour a shot (or more heh heh heh) of the espresso, wait until it separates in 2 layers...

oh! i didn't have a transparent mug before!
so i've been drinking these cappuccinos for a while
but didn't know how they look!

until i got this mug for $1.99
my cappuccinos got the double layer going on!
nice!
oh well &
5. sprinkle some grounded cinnamon on top, for the *starbucks* effect

mmm, can't wait to be tomorrow morning! to wake up myself to one of these

macetas May 1st

tonight, may 1st
out of the blue i got this weird nice energy
after the gym (this doesn't sound like me... gym?)
well, after the gym
about 7.20pm
i realized i wanted to go to home depot
one of my favorite stores!
i can get lost there for hours
ah, building materials, wood & carpentry stuff

but i went to the garden section this time...

i got 2 little plants w/flowers over the weekend
and i needed the "macetas" (containers, in spanish)
and some soil... the earth is made out of soil!
the natural *floor* of our beloved planet is soil!



yet... you have to pay $6.49 at home depot for 16 QT
i merrily paid, and got the 2 macetas too

came home and planted these 2 guys
my new friends!
hope they behave OK and that they like their new space

i think i have a case of full moon/flower fever?
& but it was a nice way to start this month

Friday, April 27, 2007

walking alone at night

Do coincidences really exist?
Are they predestined events, or just simply déjà vu?
Or are they little tricks our minds play on us?


Sky about to Storm
Normal Heights - San Diego, California
film iso 400 - camera nikkormat

The walking solution
Is good for any occasion

I remember tonight
That anytime
Nothing like a walk
A night walk

Low flood of the night
Lights outside
The sound of distant cars
passing by

The half moon
And soft smell of houses
From the inside
Outside
Late night
Around

I walk
Alone, yet
The remembrance of you
Nearby…

Tonight an empty chair
and a late cloud

Sunday, April 22, 2007

jury duty on Monday

Monday morning
I have been called for Jury Duty
I must be at downtown at 7.30 am!

yet... I am having for dinner one of these beers
Oatmeal Stout sound great!
and nutritious! after all was used once for lactacting mothers?

but also the 2 Below Ale sounds yum!
a good beer dinner a night before
I might get stock in a trial
don't think so but... you never know...

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Into Great Silence (Die Große Stille)

tonight i finally watched this beautiful film
Into Great Silence
& to my surprise
it is not silent at all!

somehow
the absence of human sounds
brings out the beauty of the
monastery's daily reverberations of life



the film is all the good things
I read on the reviews
about the rhythm and sense of spirituality
but over all…

it is a splendid visual masterpiece!

Danke schön to Herr Philip Gröning
And his camera crew
For portraying the glory of simple life
In such a beautiful film
without any artificial light
and always preserving a high sense of respect
to the monastic life

reminiscences of Andrei Tarkovsky
and Akira Kurosawa styles
has this film
(those beautiful unhurried long shots!)

If you watch this film
Don’t expect too much of the story
There is no plot...
Just let yourself immerse into
The Great Silence...
relax and prepare your eyes & soul to enjoy!
& remember 2 hrs 44 minutes is nothing
when
“for God, there is no past, only present.”

practicalities: have an espresso with a teaspoon of sugar
before going into the theatre, & any other enhnacement
you'd like ;)

a kitchen poem

she opened her mouth
wide
(a mild gesture of her fatigue)
& the fresh scent of peppermint
by her face
prevails

how will it be his embrace?
as a ray of sunlight
that caresses a fresh piece of wood
in a carpentry bench?

fragrances of honey &
of wet soil after rain

***

in my kitchen
there are these higher shelves
the ones i can’t reah
unless i put a stool
underneath my feet
where i store cans, rice, & other food

if there is...
peppermint &...
your arms smell like wood...
the higher shelves
i can’t reach them,
anyway,
while you are away


árbol de lima - Autlán, Jalisco
April 2007